


Familiar Scents

by OTPsaisa



Category: Rurouni Kenshin
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hangover, Mild Language, Saitou is "dead", Sanosuke in jail, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, implied Drinking to Cope, mention of less pleasant bodily fluids, post Kyoto Arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:15:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27967433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OTPsaisa/pseuds/OTPsaisa
Summary: Sanosuke finds himself in jail, hungover, after another night of post-Kyoto spiraling.
Kudos: 3





	Familiar Scents

_Vomit._

_Piss._

_Mildew and mold._

Familiar scents; all of which told him exactly where he was without needing to open his eyes. He buried his face further into his arms, trying not to think about the dirty floor beneath him or the source and proximity of those scents. 

What did he do this time? 

Oh. _Right._

A night of gambling became a night of drinking which spiraled into throwing a punch and blacking out, a common enough occurrence which had become more frequent upon his return from Kyoto. He had already been on a first name basis with the entire Tokyo police department, but now they'd practically been saving him a cell due to the inevitability of his weekly incarceration. He cracked open an eye, recognizing the scuffs on the wall near his face that he had put there himself during one of his previous visits, before squeezing it shut again. 

_'Way to make a guy feel special...'_

He ignored the long shadow cast over him from the other side of the cell door. It was probably Yuuji or Hiroshi or Tsugio... he really didn't care, as long as they left him alone to rot in peace. His head throbbed, his stomach turned, but if he could just fall asleep again he could ignore the aching from the hangover and the aching in his heart...

_Smoke._

He grimaced. He smelled it in his dreams, had flashbacks when Kaoru burned the tofu; smoke became an unpleasant reminder of all the pain and loss he'd experienced. Nightmares plagued him ever since returning from Shishio's fortress, it's what drove his fast descent into oblivion.

_Inhale._

_Exhale._

_The scent of tobacco smoke._

Sanosuke's eyes shot open and he whipped around, ignoring the pounding in his head at the suddenness of his movements, but no one was there. Rushing and unsteady, he climbed to his feet and pressed himself against the cell door; grabbing the bars, he looked as far as he could, but the angle was wrong and the lighting dim. Nausea washed over him and he reeled, sliding the length of the closest wall until he was seated with his eyes clamped shut, waiting for the world to stop spinning under him. 

_'Crazy... I'm going crazy. That fucker died.'_

Opening his eyes again, they settled on a single cigarette, half spent and still smoldering, just outside of arms reach.


End file.
